One of the requirements for accurate bio-detection of harmful pathogens is having a molecular profile of the organism of interest that is distinct from related, nonpathogenic species. A particularly difficult challenge has been the identification of species-specific membrane and spore coat proteins. My laboratory has made tremendous progress in optimizing the separation of both bacterial membrane proteins and spore coat proteins on 2D gels. This improvement in separation, coupled with the availability of genome sequence and recent advances in protein identification using peptide mass fingerprinting through mass spectrometry has made identification of these protein spots on a 2-D gels a reality. In this study we will perform a comprehensive proteomic analysis of the Bacillus anthracis membrane and spore coat proteins. From these studies we will have in hand an accurate catalog of expressed gene products during vegetative growth, during sporulation and of the mature spore coat. The identification of species-specific spore coat proteins is of particular necessity as the bioterrorism threat is specific to the spore form of B. anthracis. Our studies will identify the spore coat proteins that are unique to B. anthracis such that an accurate bio-detection assay can be rapidly developed. The data generated from this study will also allow us to conduct long-term studies that focus on molecular/genetic approaches to identify antimicrobial targets and to address basic developmental questions.